Method and apparatus for performing power control by terminal in wireless communication system using multiple carriers

ABSTRACT

A method of activating or deactivating frequency resources at a terminal configured with a primary frequency resource and one or more non-primary frequency resources in a wireless communication system, and the terminal are discussed. The method according to one embodiment includes receiving a medium access control (MAC) signal for activating the one or more non-primary frequency resources; activating the one or more non-primary frequency resources; and deactivating the one or more non-primary frequency resources on expiry of a specific time period configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the specific time period being for which of the one or more non-primary frequency resources are activated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of copending application Ser. No.13/509,969, filed on May 15, 2012, which is the National Phase ofPCT/KR2010/008040, filed on Nov. 15, 2010, which claims priority under35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/261,371, filedon Nov. 15, 2009, all of which are hereby expressly incorporated byreference into the present application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system usingmultiple carriers, and more particularly to a method and apparatus forallowing a user equipment (UE) belonging to a wireless communicationsystem to perform power control during the carrier reception of the UE.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Wireless communication systems have been widely used to provide variouskinds of communication services such as voice or data services.Generally, a wireless communication system is a multiple access systemthat can communicate with multiple users by sharing available systemresources (bandwidth, transmission (Tx) power, and the like). A varietyof multiple access systems can be used. For example, a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) system, a Frequency Division Multiple Access(FDMA) system, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) system anOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) system, a SingleCarrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) system, aMulti-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (MC-FDMA) system, andthe like. In a mobile communication system, a user equipment (UE) mayreceive information from a base station (BS) via downlink, and maytransmit information to the base station (BS) via uplink. Theinformation that is transmitted and received to and from the UE includesdata and a variety of control information. A variety of physicalchannels are used according to categories and usages of transmission(Tx) and reception (Rx) information of the UE.

In a mobile wireless communication system, a channel is not constantbetween a transmitter and a receiver. Thus, it is necessary to oftenmeasure the channel between a transmission (Tx) antenna and a reception(Rx) antenna. When a predefined signal is transmitted and received tomeasure the channel, the receiver may determine the amplitude decreaseand phase shift of the channel using the predefined signal and may feedback the determined information to the transmitter. In addition, thereceiver may detect and decode data information reliably based on thedetermined information. The signal predefined between the transmitterand the receiver may be referred to as a reference signal, a pilotsignal, or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

As a representative example of a wireless communication system of thepresent invention, a 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project Long TermEvolution (3GPP LTE) communication system will hereinafter be describedin detail.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an Evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications System (E-UMTS) network structure as an exemplarymobile communication system. In particular, the Enhanced UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (E-UMTS) has evolved from a legacy UMTSsystem, and basic standardization thereof is now being conducted by the3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). E-UMTS may also be referredto as Long Term Evolution (LTE). For details of the technicalspecifications of UMTS and E-UMTS, refer to Release 7 and Release 8 of“3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group RadioAccess Network”.

As shown in FIG. 1, the E-UMTS system is broadly made up of a UserEquipment (UE) 120, base stations (or eNode-Bs) 110 a and 110 b, and anAccess Gateway (AG) which is located at an end of a network (E-UTRAN)and is connected to an external network. Generally, an eNode-B cansimultaneously transmit multiple data streams for a broadcast service, amulticast service and/or a unicast service.

Each eNode-B includes one or more cells. One cell of the eNode-B is setto use a bandwidth such as 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz to provide adownlink or uplink transmission service to user equipments (UEs). Here,different cells may be set to use different bandwidths. The eNode-Bcontrols transmission and reception of data for several UEs. Inassociation with downlink (DL) data, the eNode-B transmits downlink (DL)scheduling information to a corresponding UE, so as to inform thecorresponding UE of time/frequency domains where data is to betransmitted, coding information, data size information, Hybrid AutomaticRepeat and reQuest (HARQ)—related information, and the like. Inassociation with uplink (UL) data, the eNode-B transmits UL schedulinginformation to the corresponding UE, so that it informs thecorresponding UE of time/frequency domains capable of being used by thecorresponding UE, coding information, data size information,HARQ-related information, and the like. An interface for transmission ofuser traffic or control traffic may be used between eNode-Bs. A CoreNetwork (CN) may include an Access Gateway (AG) and a network node foruser registration of the UE. The AG manages mobility of a UE on thebasis of a Tracking Area (TA) composed of several cells.

Although wireless communication technology has been developed to LTEtechnology on the basis of WCDMA technology, users and enterprisescontinuously demand new feature and services. In addition, otherwireless access technologies are being developed, such that there is aneed for new or improved wireless access technology in order to remaincompetitive in the long run. For example, reduction in cost per bit,increase of service availability, adaptive frequency band utilization, asimple structure, an open-type interface, and appropriate user equipment(UE) power consumption are needed for the new or improved wirelessaccess technology.

Recently, 3GPP has been establishing a standard task for a subsequenttechnique of LTE. In this specification, such a technique is referred toas “LTE-Advanced” or “LTE-A”. One of the main differences between an LTEsystem and an LTE-A system is a system bandwidth. The LTE-A system isaimed at supporting a broadband of a maximum of 100 MHz, and to thisend, the LTE-A system is designed to use a carrier aggregation orbandwidth aggregation technique using a plurality of frequency blocks.Carrier aggregation employs a plurality of frequency blocks as one biglogical frequency band in order to use a wider frequency band. Abandwidth of each frequency block may be defined based on a bandwidth ofa system block used in the LTE system. Each frequency block istransmitted using a component carrier. Multiple carriers may also bereferred to as carrier aggregation or bandwidth aggregation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatusfor performing power control by a user equipment (UE) in a wirelesscommunication system using multiple carriers that substantially obviateone or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the relatedart. An object of the present invention is to provide a method andapparatus for allowing a user equipment (UE) belonging to a wirelesscommunication system based on multiple carriers to perform power controlduring the carrier reception of the UE.

It is to be understood that technical objects to be achieved by thepresent invention are not limited to the aforementioned technicalobjects and other technical objects which are not mentioned herein willbe apparent from the following description to one of ordinary skill inthe art to which the present invention pertains.

The object of the present invention can be achieved by providing a userequipment (UE) for use in a wireless communication system supportingmultiple carriers, the user equipment (UE) including a reception modulefor receiving control information, that indicates whether amulti-carrier operation is performed using a hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) process, from a base station (BS); and a processor forperforming a multi-carrier reception operation in a specific period inwhich a specific HARQ process indicated by the control information isactivated.

The control information may indicate the presence or absence of anindependent multi-carrier mode for each HARQ process.

The control information may include a single control signal indicatingthe presence or absence of a multi-carrier mode for at least two HARQprocesses.

The control information may be achieved by applying cross-carrierscheduling to at least one control signal of several HARQ processesoperated in a multi-carrier mode, and may be received through a singlecommon carrier.

In another aspect of the present invention, a user equipment (UE) foruse in a wireless communication system supporting multiple carriersincludes a reception module for receiving first control information,that includes information regarding an activation time point establishedfor each carrier, from a base station (BS); and a processor formaintaining a deactivation state, and controlling a power state so as toreceive the multiple carriers at an activation time point indicated bythe first control information.

Upon receiving second control information related to a discontinuousreception (DRX) mode setup through the reception module, the processorfor controlling the power state may be operated in the discontinuousreception (DRX) mode according to the second control information, and atthe same time receive multiple carriers transmitted at an activationtime point indicated by the first control information.

In another aspect of the present invention, a user equipment (UE) foruse in a wireless communication system supporting multiple carriersincludes a reception module for receiving control information regardinga valid period in which carrier aggregation is activated, from the basestation (BS); and a processor for controlling a power state in such amanner that the UE is operated in a multi-carrier reception mode fromamong the valid period indicated by the control information.

Control information regarding the valid period may be determined on thebasis of specific information indicating whether the amount of datareceived from the base station (BS) satisfies a predetermined referenceamount.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method for receivingcontrol information by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communicationsystem supporting multiple carriers includes receiving controlinformation, that indicates whether a multi-carrier operation isperformed using a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process, from abase station (BS); and entering a multi-carrier reception mode in aspecific period in which a specific HARQ process indicated by thecontrol information is activated, thereby receiving multiple carriersfrom the base station (BS).

In another aspect of the present invention, a method for receivingcontrol information by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communicationsystem supporting multiple carriers includes receiving first controlinformation, that includes information regarding an activation timepoint established for each carrier, from a base station (BS); andcontrolling a power state in a deactivation state, thereby receiving themultiple carriers at an activation time point indicated by the firstcontrol information.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method for receivingcontrol information by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communicationsystem supporting multiple carriers includes receiving controlinformation regarding a valid period in which carrier aggregation isactivated, from the base station (BS); and performing a multi-carrierreception mode in the valid period indicated by the control information,and receiving the multiple carriers from the base station (BS).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary embodimentsof the present invention are merely part of preferred embodiments of thepresent invention and various embodiments of the present inventionreflecting the technical features of the present invention can bederived and understood from the following detailed description of thepresent invention.

As is apparent from the above description, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention have the following effects. In a wirelesscommunication system using multiple carriers, a UE can perform powercontrol when receiving the multiple carriers.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the effectsthat can be achieved with the present invention are not limited to whathas been particularly described hereinabove and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, illustrate embodiments of the inventionand together with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an Evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications System (E-UMTS) network structure as an example of awireless communication system;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a radio frame used in a3GPP LTE system;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating physical channels for use ina 3GPP LTE system and a method for transmitting a signal using thephysical channels;

FIG. 4 illustrates a downlink (DL) subframe structure for use in a 3GPPLTE system;

FIG. 5 shows a downlink (DL) time-frequency resource grid structure foruse in a 3GPP LTE system;

FIG. 6 illustrates an uplink (UL) subframe structure for use in a 3GPPLTE system;

FIG. 7 shows a frequency band for use in a multicarrier-supportingsystem;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating resource allocation and retransmissionof the asynchronous HARQ scheme;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a power control method according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a discontinuous reception(DRX) operation;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a power control method according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a power control method according toyet another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a base station (BS) and a userequipment (UE) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. The detailed description, which will be given below withreference to the accompanying drawings, is intended to explain exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, rather than to show the onlyembodiments that can be implemented according to the present invention.The following detailed description includes specific details in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. For example, thefollowing description will be given centering upon a mobilecommunication system serving as a 3GPP LTE system, but the presentinvention is not limited thereto and the remaining parts of the presentinvention other than unique characteristics of the 3GPP LTE system areapplicable to other mobile communication systems.

In some cases, in order to prevent ambiguity of the concepts of thepresent invention, conventional devices or apparatuses well known tothose skilled in the art will be omitted and be denoted in the form of ablock diagram on the basis of important functions of the presentinvention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

In the following description, a terminal may refer to a mobile or fixeduser equipment (UE), for example, a user equipment (UE), a mobilestation (MS) and the like. Also, the base station (BS) may refer to anarbitrary node of a network end which communicates with the aboveterminal, and may include an eNode B (eNB), a Node B (Node-B), an accesspoint (AP) and the like.

The following embodiments of the present invention can be applied to avariety of wireless access technologies, for example, code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), timedivision multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access(SC-FDMA), and the like. CDMA can be implemented by wirelesscommunication technologies, such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(UTRA) or CDMA2000. TDMA can be implemented by wireless communicationtechnologies, for example, a Global System for Mobile communications(GSM), a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), an Enhanced Data rates forGSM Evolution (EDGE), etc. OFDMA can be implemented by wirelesscommunication technologies, for example, IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, E-UTRA (Evolved UTRA), and the like. UTRAis a part of a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) is apart of an Evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) that uses an E-UTRA. LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) is an evolved version of 3GPP LTE.

Although the following embodiments of the present invention willhereinafter describe inventive technical characteristics on the basis ofthe 3GPP LTE/LTE-A system, it should be noted that the followingembodiments will be disclosed only for illustrative purposes and thescope and spirit of the present invention are not limited thereto.

In a mobile communication system, the UE may receive information fromthe base station (BS) via a downlink, and may transmit information viaan uplink. The information that is transmitted and received to and fromthe UE includes data and a variety of control information. A variety ofphysical channels are used according to categories of transmission (Tx)and reception (Rx) information of the UE.

FIG. 2 exemplarily shows a radio frame structure for use in a 3rdGeneration Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) system.

Referring to FIG. 2, the radio frame has a length of 10 ms(327200·T_(s)) and includes 10 subframes of equal size. Each subframehas a length of 1 ms and includes two slots. In this case, T_(s)represents sampling time, and is expressed by ‘T_(s)=1/(15kHz×2048)=3.2552×10⁻⁸ (about 33 ns)’. The slot includes a plurality ofOFDM symbols in a time domain, and includes a plurality of resourceblocks (RBs) in a frequency domain. In the LTE system, one resourceblock includes twelve (12) subcarriers×seven (or six) OFDM (OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiplexing) symbols. A frame structure type 1 isused for FDD, and a frame structure type 2 is used for TDD. The framestructure type 2 includes two half frames, and each half frame includes5 subframes, a downlink piloting time slot (DwPTS), a guard period (GP),and an uplink piloting time slot (UpPTS). The aforementioned structureof the radio frame is only exemplary, and various modifications can bemade to the number of subframes contained in the radio frame or thenumber of slots contained in each subframe, or the number of OFDM (orSC-FDMA) symbols in each slot.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating physical channels for use ina 3GPP system and a general method for transmitting a signal using thephysical channels.

Referring to FIG. 3, when powered on or when entering a new cell, a UEperforms initial cell search in step S301. The initial cell searchinvolves synchronization with a BS. Specifically, the UE synchronizeswith the BS and acquires a cell Identifier (ID) and other information byreceiving a Primary Synchronization CHannel (P-SCH) and a SecondarySynchronization CHannel (S-SCH) from the BS. Then the UE may acquireinformation broadcast in the cell by receiving a Physical BroadcastCHannel (PBCH) from the BS. During the initial cell search, the MS maymonitor a downlink channel status by receiving a downlink ReferenceSignal (DL RS).

After the initial cell search, the UE may acquire more specific systeminformation by receiving a Physical Downlink Control CHannel (PDCCH) andreceiving a Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (PDSCH) based oninformation of the PDCCH in step S302.

On the other hand, if the UE initially accesses the BS or if the UE doesnot have radio resources for signal transmission, it may perform arandom access procedure to the BS in steps S303 to S306. For the randomaccess, the UE may transmit a predetermined sequence as a preamble tothe BS on a Physical Random Access CHannel (PRACH) in steps S303 andS305 and receive a response message for the random access on a PDCCH anda PDSCH corresponding to the PDCCH in steps S304 and S306. In the caseof contention-based RACH, the UE may perform a contention resolutionprocedure.

After the foregoing procedure, the UE may receive a PDCCH and a PDSCH instep S307 and transmit a Physical Uplink Shared CHannel (PUSCH) and aPhysical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) in step S308, as a generaldownlink/uplink (DL/UL) signal transmission procedure. On the otherhand, uplink control information transmitted from the UE to the BS ordownlink control information transmitted from the UE to the BS mayinclude a downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) ACKnowledgement/NegativeACKnowledgment (ACK/NACK) signal, a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), aPrecoding Matrix Index (PMI) and/or a Rank Indicator (RI). The UEadapted to operate in the 3GPP LTE system may transmit the controlinformation such as a CQI, a PMI, and/or an RI on the PUSCH and/or thePUCCH.

FIG. 4 illustrates a downlink (DL) subframe structure for use in a 3GPPLTE system.

Referring to FIG. 4, one downlink subframe includes two slots in a timedomain. A maximum of three OFDM symbols located in the front of thedownlink subframe are used as a control region to which control channelsare allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols are used as a data regionto which a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) channel isallocated.

DL control channels for use in the 3GPP LTE system include a PhysicalControl Format Indicator CHannel (PCFICH), a Physical Downlink ControlChannel (PDCCH), a Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator CHannel (PHICH), andthe like. The traffic channel includes a Physical Downlink SharedCHannel (PDSCH). PCFICH transmitted through a first OFDM symbol of thesubframe may carry information about the number of OFDM symbols (i.e.,the size of control region) used for transmission of control channelswithin the subframe. Control information transmitted through PDCCH isreferred to as downlink control information (DCI). The DCI may indicateUL resource allocation information, DL resource allocation information,UL transmission power control commands of arbitrary UE groups, etc.PHICH may carry ACK (Acknowledgement)/NACK (Not-Acknowledgement) signalsabout an UL Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (UL HARQ). That is, theACK/NACK signals about UL data transmitted from the UE are transmittedover PHICH.

PDCCH acting as a DL physical channel will hereinafter be described indetail.

A base station (BS) may transmit information about resource allocationand transmission format (UL grant) of the PDSCH, resource allocationinformation of the PUSCH, information about Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) activation, etc. A plurality of PDCCHs may be transmitted withinthe control region, and the UE may monitor the PDCCHs. Each PFCCHincludes an aggregate of one or more contiguous control channel elements(CCEs). The PDCCH composed of the aggregate of one or more contiguousCCEs may be transmitted through the control region after performingsubblock interleaving. CCE is a logical allocation unit for providing acoding rate based on a Radio frequency (RF) channel status to the PDCCH.CCE may correspond to a plurality of resource element groups. PDCCHformat and the number of available PDCCHs may be determined according tothe relationship between the number of CCEs and the coding rate providedby CCEs. Control information transmitted over PDCCH is referred to asdownlink control information (DCI). The following Table 1 shows DCIs inresponse to DCI formats.

TABLE 1 DCI Format Description DCI format 0 used for the scheduling ofPUSCH DCI format 1 used for the scheduling of one PUSCH codeword DCIformat used for the compact scheduling of one PDSCH 1A codeword andrandom access procedure initiated by a PDCCH order DCI format used forthe compact scheduling of one PDSCH 1B codeword with precordinginformation DCI format used for very compact scheduling of one PDSCH 1Ccodeword DCI format used for the compact scheduling of one PDSCH 1Dcodeword with precording and power offset information DCI format 2 usedfor scheduling PDSCH to UEs configured in closed- loop spatialmultiplexing mode DCI format used for scheduling PDSCH to UEs configuredin open- 2A loop spatial multiplexing mode DCI format 3 used for thetransmission of TPC commands for PUCCH and PUSCH with 2-bit poweradjustments DCI format used for the transmission of TPC commands forPUCCH 3A and PUSCH with single bit power adjustments

In Table 1, DCI format 0 may indicate uplink resource allocationinformation. DCI format 1 and DCI format 2 may indicate downlinkresource allocation information. DCI format 3 and DCI format 3A mayindicate uplink transmit power control (TPC) commands for arbitrary UEgroups.

FIG. 5 shows a downlink time-frequency resource grid structure for usein a 3GPP LTE system according to the present invention. In uplink anddownlink, the same time-frequency resource grid structure is used asshown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, a signal transmitted in each slot can be describedby a resource grid including N_(RB)×N_(SC) subcarriers and N_(symb)downlink OFDM symbols or N_(symb) uplink SC-FDMA symbols. Here, N_(RB)represents the number of resource blocks (RBs), N_(SC) represents thenumber of subcarriers constituting one RB, and N_(symb) represents thenumber of OFDM or SC-FDMA symbols in one slot. N_(RB) varies with abandwidth constructed in a cell, and must satisfy N_(RB)^(min)≦N_(RB)≦N_(RB) ^(max). Here, N_(RB) ^(min) is the smallestbandwidth supported by the wireless communication system, and N_(RB)^(max) is the largest bandwidth supported by the wireless communicationsystem.

Although N_(RB) ^(min) may be set to 6 (N_(RB) ^(min)=6) and N_(RB)^(max) may be set to 110 (N_(RB) ^(max)=110), the scopes of N_(RB)^(min) and N_(RB) ^(max) are not limited thereto. The number of OFDM orSC-FDMA symbols contained in one slot may be differently definedaccording to the length of a Cyclic Prefix (CP) and spacing betweensubcarriers. When transmitting data or information via multipleantennas, one resource grid may be defined for each antenna port m.

Each element contained in the resource grid for each antenna port iscalled a resource element (RE), and can be identified by an index pair(k, l) contained in a slot, where k is an index in a frequency domainand is set to any one of 0, . . . , N_(RB)*N_(sc)−1, and l is an indexin a time domain and is set to any one of 0, . . . , N_(symb)−1.

FIG. 6 illustrates an uplink (UL) subframe structure for use in a 3GPPLTE system.

Referring to FIG. 6, the uplink (UL) subframe includes a plurality ofslots (e.g., 2 slots). The UL subframe is divided into a data region anda control region in a frequency domain. The data region includes PUSCHand transmits a data signal such as voice, image and the like. Thecontrol region includes PUCCH, and transmits Uplink Control Information(UCI). PUCCH includes a pair of RBs (hereinafter referred to as an RBpair) located at both ends of the data region on a frequency axis, andis hopped using a slot as a boundary. Control information may includeHybrid Automatic Retransmit reQuest (HARQ) ACK/NACK, channel informationfor downlink (hereinafter referred to as ‘downlink channel information’or ‘channel information’). The downlink channel information may includea CQI, a PMI, an RI, etc. Upon receiving the downlink channelinformation from each UE, the BS can determine proper time/frequencyresources, a modulation method, a coding rate, etc. required fortransmitting data to each UE.

Channel information for use in the LTE system may include CQI, PMI, RI,etc. If necessary, some or all of CQI, PMI, and RI may be transmitted inresponse to a transmission mode of each UE. In an exemplary case inwhich channel information is periodically transmitted, this exemplarycase is referred to as periodic reporting. In another exemplary case inwhich channel information is transmitted by a request of the BS, thisexemplary case is referred to as aperiodic reporting. In case of theaperiodic reporting, a request bit contained in uplink schedulinginformation received form the BS is transmitted to a UE. Thereafter, theUE transmits channel information considering its own transmission modeto the BS over a PUSCH. In the case of the periodic reporting, a period,an offset for use in the corresponding period, etc. are semi-staticallysignaled in units of a subframe through a higher layer signal for eachUE. Each UE transmits channel information considering the transmissionmode to the BS through a PUCCH according to a predetermined period. Ifuplink data is also present in the subframe carrying channelinformation, the channel information as well as data is transmitted overa uplink data channel (PUSCH). The BS transmits transmission timinginformation appropriate for each UE to the UE in consideration of achannel condition of each UE, a UE distribution of each cell, etc. Thetransmission timing information may include a period, an offset, etc.required for transmitting channel information, and may be transmitted toeach UE through a radio resource control (RRC) message.

On the other hand, the wireless communication system such as 3GPP LTE-Aor IEEE 802.16 supports various multi-carrier operations so as to extenda bandwidth. Each multi-carrier operation is achieved by aggregatingcontiguous or non-contiguous carriers such that it implementstransmission/reception of data at once. Multiple carrier (ormulti-carrier) may also be referred to as carrier aggregation orbandwidth aggregation.

FIG. 7 shows a frequency band for use in a system supporting multiplecarriers (i.e., a multicarrier-supporting system).

Referring to FIG. 7, multi-carrier denotes the entire frequency bandused by the base station (BS) and is equal to the whole band. Forexample, the multi-carrier may be 100 MHz.

The component carrier (CC) refers to an element carrier configuring themulti-carrier. That is, a plurality of CCs configures a multi-CC throughcarrier aggregation. The CC includes a plurality of lower bands. At thistime, if the term “multi-carrier” is replaced with the term “wholeband”, CC aggregation is also called bandwidth aggregation. As asubband, the lower band may be replaced with a partial band. Inaddition, the carrier aggregation can extend a bandwidth by collecting aplurality of carriers in order to increase a data rate. For example, inthe existing system, one carrier is 20 MHz. However, the bandwidth canbe extended to 100 MHz by collecting five carriers each having 20 MHz.The carrier aggregation includes aggregation of carriers located indifferent frequency bands.

Under the environment in which the multicarrier-supporting structureshown in FIG. 7 or different sizes of cells such as a femto-cell, arelay node (RN) or a pico-cell are simultaneously operated on a network,the signal interference problem among individual carriers may occur. Inaddition, in the case of supporting the multi-carrier operation, if theUE is ready to receive multiple carriers or operates an uplink chain topackets through multiple carriers, power consumption for the multiplecarriers may excessively increase.

The UE receiving downlink data does not know a time point of traffictransmission. Thus, under the UE is powered on, an RF chain for multiplecarriers and analog-to-digital (AD) conversion of the correspondingsignal must always be achieved and at the same time basic digitalconversion processing must also be performed. Therefore, if packets arenot actually transmitted via downlink, unnecessary power consumptionoccurs.

In comparison between downlink power with uplink power, in the case ofuplink, the UE may perform power control using control information basedon power control scheduling received from the BS. Uplink schedulingdetermines which frequency band is to be used by the BS that transmitsuplink data at a specific time point, and also determines which UE is tobe used as a transmission target of uplink data. In addition, the uplinkscheduling may adjust the amount of power required for uplink datatransmission.

On the other hand, downlink scheduling determines which frequency bandis used by the BS at a specific time point, and also determines which UEis to be used as a data transmission target. Therefore, the UE hasdifficulty in controlling power in association with downlink trafficreception in so far as the UE does not receive additional signaling fordownlink scheduling.

Therefore, the present invention provides a method for enabling the UEto perform a power control operation required for downlink multi-carriertransmission.

The present invention provides a power control method for downlinkmulti-carrier reception of the UE, also provides a method forcontrolling power in consideration of a multi-carrier reception status.For example, as to a specific HARQ process index or ID value dependingon a HARQ process index or ID value, a multi-carrier reception mode(i.e., a reception mode for downlink carrier aggregation) is applied tothe specific HARQ process index or ID value. As to other HARQ processindex or ID values, a single-carrier reception mode (i.e., reception ofa downlink signal to which carrier aggregation is not applied) may beapplied to the other HARQ process index or ID values. In addition,associated configuration information is configured in the form of an ACKsignal of the UE request or the entire configuration informationsignaling (RRC signaling, or PDCCH transmission, or MAC messaging) ofthe BS, and is received by the UE. In addition, in order to allow the UEnot to receive data during a predetermined time or information or toreceive carrier aggregation only at a specific time, the presentinvention proposes a method for receiving a downlink signal to whichcarrier aggregation is applied only at a specific time using a specificmethod for defining the same UE state as in a UE's DRX operation definedin the legacy LTE Release 8 and 9. In addition, in accordance with thepresent invention, since the UE receives a signal specifying a validperiod of carrier aggregation from the BS, a downlink signal receptionmode of the carrier aggregation scheme can be applied only to thecorresponding time period. The above-mentioned schemes may be used alongwith other methods prescribed in the present invention, and may also beused along with other methods not prescribed in the present invention.If necessary, even in the case of single carrier reception but notcarrier aggregation, a downlink signal reception mode of the UE and adownlink signal non-reception mode of the UE may be configured to reducepower consumption of the UE not only in a carrier aggregation situationbut also in a single carrier reception situation.

1. First Embodiment (Use of Multiple Carriers Based on HARQ Process)

In order to control errors encountered after transmission of uplink ordownlink scheduling data, an automatic repeat request (ARQ) scheme andan evolved HARQ scheme may be used may be used.

Basically, the ARQ scheme can control errors according to transmissionor non-transmission of ACK/NACK signals under the condition that atransmitter transmits one frame and then correctly receives a frame fromthe receiver without any errors. If the receiver receives the framewithout any errors, it transmits an ACK signal. If there is data to betransmitted to the buffer, the receiver transmits the next frame. If thereceiver receives an erroneous frame, the erroneous frame is deletedfrom a buffer of the receiver, the receiver transmits an NACK signal tothe transmitter, and the transmitter retransmits the same frame to thereceiver.

Differently from the ARQ scheme, the HARQ scheme transmits a NACK signalfrom the receiver to the transmitter under the condition that thereceived frame is not demodulated, and the HARQ scheme also stores thepre-received frame in a buffer during a predetermined time in which thecorresponding frame can be retransmitted, such that the retransmittedframe is combined with the pre-received frame, resulting in an increasedsuccess rate.

In recent times, the HARQ scheme more effective than the basic ARQscheme has been widely used throughout the world. A variety of HARQschemes may be used. In accordance with a retransmission timing point,the HARQ schemes may be classified into a synchronization HARQ schemeand an asynchronous HARQ scheme. In addition, the HARQ schemes may beclassified into a channel-adaptive HARQ scheme and achannel-non-adaptive HARQ scheme according to whether a channel statusis reflected in the amount of resources to be used for retransmission.

If initial transmission fails, the synchronous HARQ scheme performs thenext retransmission at a time point decided by the system. That is,provided that a retransmission time point is achieved every fourth timeunit after initial transmission has failed, the above-mentionedretransmission time point need not be further signaled between the UEand the BS because it has already been promised between the UE and theBS. However, if the transmitter of data receives the NACK message, aframe is retransmitted every fourth time unit until receiving the ACKmessage.

On the other hand, the asynchronous HARQ scheme may be achieved througha newly scheduled retransmission time point or additional signaling. Aretransmission time point of the previously failed frame may be changedaccording to various reasons such as a channel state or the like.

The channel non-adaptive HARQ scheme performs the HARQ operation usingthe same parameters (for example, frame modulation, the number of usedRBs, adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), etc.) as those of initialtransmission. Differently from the channel non-adaptive HARQ scheme, thechannel adaptive HARQ scheme is changed according to a channel status.In more detail, according to the channel non-adaptive HARQ scheme, whenthe transmitter transmits data using 6 RBs during the initialtransmission, and then retransmits data using the same 6 RBs. Incontrast, according to channel adaptive HARQ scheme, although atransmitter transmits data using 6 RBs, the transmitter may retransmitdata using 6 or less RBs according to the next channel status.

Although four HARQ combinations may be used according to theabove-mentioned classification, it should be noted that the asynchronouschannel adaptive HARQ scheme and the synchronous channel non-adaptiveHARQ scheme are generally used.

Since the asynchronous channel adaptive HARQ scheme adaptively changes aretransmission time point and the amount of resources to be usedaccording to a channel state, retransmission efficiency is maximized andoverhead unexpectedly increases, such that the asynchronous channeladaptive HARQ scheme is not generally considered for uplink.

On the other hand, in the case of the synchronous channel non-adaptiveHARQ scheme, a retransmission time point and resource assignment arepromised in a system, such that the synchronous channel non-adaptiveHARQ scheme has an advantage in that it generates little overhead forthe above-mentioned retransmission and resource assignment. In contrast,provided that the synchronous non-adaptive HARQ scheme is used in anenvironment of excessive channel state variation, the HARQretransmission efficiency is greatly reduced.

In the 3GPP LTE, the asynchronous HARQ scheme has been used for downlinkas a basic scheme, and the synchronous HARQ scheme has been used foruplink as a basic scheme in the remaining cases other than a specificsituation (for example, a specific traffic situation such assemi-persistent scheduling, or a specific transmission situation).

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating resource allocation and retransmissionof the asynchronous HARQ scheme. In downlink, until ACK/NACK informationis received from the UE upon completion of data transmission byscheduling, and the next data is then transmitted, a time delay occursas shown in FIG. 8. In more detail, the time delay occurs due to channelpropagation delay, data decoding, and a time required for the dataencoding. For seamless data transmission during the above time delay, amethod for transmitting data using an independent HARQ process has beenused.

For example, provided that the shortest time period from current datatransmission to the next data transmission is composed of 7 subframes,it is possible to perform seamless data transmission using 7 independentprocess. If the LTE system is not operated in MIMO, a maximum of 8processes can be assigned.

Referring to FIG. 8, in the case of using the HARQ operation to controldownlink reception power consumption of the UE according to oneembodiment of the present invention, a predetermined time delay isassigned to a transmission structure of mutual response messages due tolimited processing power of the UE and the BS for use in the HARQoperation, N groups are derived from the entire HARQ process indexes orID values, and different UE downlink reception methods (or modes) areapplied to individual HARQ process indexes or ID groups in such a mannerthat the embodiment of the present invention can control UE receptionpower consumption under a downlink carrier aggregation situation.Hereinafter, it is assumed that N is set to 2 (N=2), a downlinkmulti-carrier reception mode is applied to a specific HARQ processgroup, and a downlink single-carrier reception mode is applied to otherHARQ process group. However, the proposed schemes of the presentinvention can be equally applied not only to a case in which N HARQprocess groups are defined but also to another case in which the numberof different UE downlink reception modes defined to reduce UE receptionpower consumption is set to N greater than 2.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling UE receptionpower consumption according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, a UE receives HARQ-based control informationdepending on a multi-carrier scheduling process for the HARQ operationfrom the BS in step S901. The control information may includeinformation per HARQ process index (or per ID) capable of being used inUE power control and/or may include downlink information for thecorresponding UE.

The HARQ process defined in the LTE system includes a plurality ofprocesses in response to a processing time delay situation of thereceiver. Therefore, provided that the BS according to one embodiment ofthe present invention assigns carrier aggregation only to at least oneprocess from among arbitrary HARQ processes of a specific UE, the UE mayreceive multiple carriers only at a subframe time point at which thedetermined HARQ process is activated.

The carrier aggregation assignment and control information based on theHARQ process operation may include information regarding a specific timeat which a specific HARQ process is activated so that packet istransmitted/retransmitted. That is, the above-mentioned The carrieraggregation assignment and control information may include informationregarding an HARQ process index (or ID) for multi-carrier reception orinformation regarding subframe indexes. In this case, theabove-mentioned control information may command the UE to perform theindependent multi-carrier reception operation for each HARQ process, ormay inform the UE of information regarding HARQ processes to which themulti-carrier reception operation is applied. In this case, theabove-mentioned control information may include information indicatingmultiple carriers acting as a reception object of the corresponding HARQprocess.

Through the above-mentioned control information, the HARQ processspecified by multiple carriers may be designated by an HARQ process IDor may be transmitted through an index bitmap.

Thereafter, the UE receives downlink carriers from the BS in step S902.

The UE having received the HARQ-based power control informationdetermines an operation mode in consideration of information as towhether the HARQ process of the above-mentioned control information isindicated by a multi-carrier mode in step S903.

That is, in a specific HARQ process to which the multi-carrier receptionoperation is applied according to control information, the UE isoperated in a multi-carrier reception mode designated by a downlinksignal. During the multi-carrier mode of the present invention, an RFchain of multiple carriers and associated A/D conversion may beperformed as described above or a plurality of RF chains and A/Dconversion may be performed in step S904.

The HARQ processes defined in the above-mentioned control informationare operated in the multi-carrier reception mode, and at the same timethe UE is operated in a legacy reception mode (e.g., a single-carrierreception mode) for other HARQ processes in step S905. Through theabove-mentioned reception operation process, the UE does not perform thebasic operation of the multi-carrier mode in the remaining HARQprocesses other than a specific time at which the designated HARQprocess is activated, resulting in reduction in power consumption.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the BS canperform the following power control operation.

1) When constructing control information regarding the multi-carrierreception mode indication and/or control information regarding thesingle-carrier reception mode indication so as to reduce UE receptionpower consumption based on the HARQ process, the BS may constructcontrol information that independently indicates multiple carriers perHARQ process, or may combine control information (for example,indication information of 10-bits bitmap or 40-bits bitmap) indicatingmultiple carriers of a specific number of HARQ processes.

2) The BS may establish different carrier aggregation structures forindividual HARQ processes during the HARQ scheduling process. That is,if the UE stays in the single-carrier reception mode or themulti-carrier reception mode, information regarding the number ofcarriers to be received and/or information regarding carrier indexes areindependently assigned to each HARQ. In addition, downlink carrierconfiguration to be received for each HARQ process index or ID can beestablished in such a manner that carrier aggregation configurationinformation used by the first HARQ process ID and carrier aggregationconfiguration information used by the second HARQ process ID aredifferently constructed. The proposed method may be used for carrierscheduling according to a channel status or be used for coordinationbetween multiple cells, when it is difficult to establish dynamiccarrier configuration or when a channel condition exceeds an updateperiod of carrier configuration or dynamics.

3) In association with at least one downlink HARQ process in which theUE can operate in the multi-carrier reception mode, the BS can transmitscheduling control information of the corresponding HARQ process orother control information, etc. through cross-carrier scheduling atspecific carriers (for example, a primary CC or a primary cell). Thecross-carrier scheduling is adapted to transmit scheduling/resourceassignment information or specific control information for othersubcarriers to the designated carrier through a PDCCH including acarrier indicator field (CIF) using RRC signaling or MAC messaging. Inthis case, through a specific carrier (for example, primary carrier orprimary cell) commonly constructed for each HARQ process, the UE canreceive cross-carrier scheduling control information through thecorresponding carrier, regardless of the HARQ process ID. Controlinformation regarding the multi-carrier reception mode related to atleast one HARQ process and/or control information regarding thesingle-carrier reception mode related to the at least one HARQ processmay be signaled to the UE by one or more specific carriers. In thiscase, a UE-specific carrier configuration may be established or acarrier pre-established in the system may be established or a carrierrelated to downlink and uplink may be established. In addition, adownlink primary carrier or a downlink primary cell may also beestablished as necessary.

4) Since individual HARQ process IDs may have different independentcross-carrier scheduling configurations and/or different independentcross-carrier scheduling setting, a certain HARQ process ID can be usedas an application target of the cross-carrier scheduling duringtransmission of such control information, but it should be noted that nocross-carrier scheduling may be applied to another HARQ process ID asnecessary. In another example, it may also be possible for cross-carrierscheduling not to be applied to all HARQ process IDs as necessary.

For transmission of system information, the BS may define carrieraggregation of a subframe (or an HARQ process ID or index) to whichsystem information is transferred. The carrier aggregation informationfor a subframe to which system information is transmitted and/or theHARQ process ID (or a specific subframe index) may be transmitted to theUE along with downlink multi-carrier configuration information relatedto a specific one HARQ process ID or all HARQ process IDs in step S901indicating reception of the UE power control information, or may betransmitted to the UE through additional signaling (for example,UE-specific RRC (higher layer) signaling, MAC message or PDCCH). Incontrast, the BS may also transmit information regarding other carriersto the UE through a specific carrier as necessary.

2. Second Embodiment (Use of Definition of Multi-Carrier ReceptionOperations that are Discontinuously Established

In order to minimize power consumption of UE downlink reception in the3GPP LTE, a UE of an idle mode (hereinafter referred to as an idle-modeUE) discontinuously receives a paging message. The above-mentioned UEsituation is called a DRX mode of the UE. That is, the UE powers on atransceiver at a predetermined time, and monitors a paging channel. Uponreceiving a paging message of the UE through a paging channel, the UEtransitions to a connection status. If the UE paging message is notreceived through a paging channel, the UE powers off the transceiver andthen enters a sleep mode until reaching the next wakeup time point.

The UE may establish an appropriate discontinuous reception (DRX) modein consideration of characteristics of services that are operating inthe connection-status UE.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a discontinuous reception(DRX) operation.

Referring to FIG. 10, if a UE stays in an active state in which the UEis powered on, the UE confirms the presence or absence of downlink data,receives data, and is powered off in a sleep state, such that powerconsumption can be minimized. The length between a first activationperiod and a second activation period corresponds to a DRX cycle length.The DRX operation can receive data simultaneously while minimizing UEpower consumption, such that the start and end of the activation stateare associated with data reception.

In accordance with a method for controlling power consumption requiredfor downlink reception of the UE, the UE can receive scheduling controlinformation of carrier aggregation or each carrier that transitions toan activation state only at a specific time point decided on the basisof associated control information received from the BS using the conceptof a DRX mode. That is, while an arbitrary downlink carrier is notreceived during a predetermined time, if a current time reaches aspecific time, the UE may receive a signal through the correspondingcarrier at the specific time.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling downlinkreception power of the UE according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the UE may independently establish the DRX modefor each downlink carrier, or may simultaneously apply the DRX mode toall carriers, such that the UE determines whether the downlink carriersignal is received in step S1101.

In a specific downlink carrier scheduling step, the BS establishesactivation/deactivation of the corresponding carrier for use in thecarrier aggregation in association with the DRX operation of the UE,such that the BS may determine the DRX period as an activation period.Alternatively, activation/deactivation of the carrier aggregation may bedifferently established irrespective of the UE's DRX operation, and theperiod in which the monitoring result of activation or deactivation issent to the UE may be constructed irrespective of the DRX period. As aresult, it is possible to previously adjust burst traffic that istransmitted to the UE. In this case, if the UE stays in an activationstate instead of the DRX state in association with a specific downlinkcarrier, activation/deactivation for each carrier may be performed onthe basis of a specific time period configured by the BS.

The BS may construct control information including information regardingthe activation/deactivation conversion period related to carrieraggregation, and transmit the constructed control information to the UEin step S1102. The control information is transmitted throughUE-specific signaling or UE-specific/carrier-specific higher layersignaling, may be transmitted to the UE along with UE-specific carrierconfiguration information or may be transmitted to the UE throughadditional signaling. Conversion period of the activation/deactivationoperation related to carrier aggregation may be established in units of10 ms, 5 ms, 20 ms, or 40 ms.

The UE that stays in an activation state upon receiving theabove-mentioned control information, establishes activation/deactivationof the carrier aggregation on the basis of a time period related tocarrier activation/deactivation, and then performs power controlaccording to the established activation/deactivation in step S1103. Thatis, if carrier aggregation enters the activation state, the UE ispowered on. If carrier aggregation enters the deactivation state, the UEis powered off. However, if the UE transitions to the DRX mode, theactivation/deactivation timing point of each downlink carrier may beinitialized.

If the HARQ process is not terminated in the activation period, the UEmay extend the activation period. In this case, the activation periodonly for the specific HARQ process ID may be extended or the activationperiod for all the HARQ process IDs may also be extended.

3. Third Embodiment (that Directly Indicates Time Period in whichCarrier Aggregation is Valid

A method for controlling downlink reception power consumption of the UEaccording to one embodiment of the present invention enables the BS todirectly indicate a valid time and/or valid period foractivation/deactivation of carrier aggregation, such that it transmitsthe resultant information to the UE through higher layer RRC signaling(or MAC messaging (activation/deactivation command) or PDCCH).

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a power control method according toyet another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 12, it isassumed that the UE may receive information regarding the DRX periodfrom the BS or may be pre-established.

Referring to FIG. 12, the UE receives control information regarding avalid time in which carrier aggregation is activated or controlinformation regarding another valid time in which carrier aggregation isdeactivated from the BS in step S1201.

As an example of a method for defining a valid time or a valid periodaccording to the carrier activation/deactivation, the embodiment of thepresent invention may directly indicate a valid time or valid period, ormay indirectly indicate a valid time or valid period. As an example ofthe method for indirectly indicating the valid time of carrieraggregation, the embodiment may determine a valid period on the basis ofthe amount of data received by the UE. That is, the valid time may bedefined in a manner that carrier aggregation is valid until the UEreceives a predetermined amount of data. In case of downlink, thepredetermined amount of data may be arbitrarily determined to be theamount of data transmitted from the BS by the BS. In case of uplink, thepredetermined amount of data may be adjusted by the BS upon receiving arequest from the UE.

Simultaneously with information of a valid period of carrier aggregationor separately from the valid period information, activation/deactivationinformation of the carrier aggregation may be automatically constructedalong with a higher layer signal, or may be configured as either theactivation/deactivation command through MAC messaging or the PDCCH-basedL1/L2 control signal.

Thereafter, the UE is operated as a multi-carrier code in a valid periodof carrier aggregation on the basis of the above-mentioned controlinformation. The power-ON status of the UE is maintained in step S1202.If the received control information indicates a specific valid period,the UE may be operated in the multi-carrier mode during thecorresponding time period. If the control information indirectlyindicates a valid time of the carrier aggregation, the UE is operated inthe multi-carrier mode until receiving all parts of the correspondingdata. In the remaining time, the UE may remain in a power saving mode(for example, a power-off state). However, activation/deactivation maybe individually established for downlink carriers constructed accordingto the downlink carrier aggregation configuration. In this case, the UEreceives an indication message regarding a valid time or valid periodrelated to activation/deactivation of arbitrarily configured downlinkcarriers from the BS through one of the above-mentioned signalingmethods, such that it can determine whether the signal receptionoperation is performed on each of the corresponding downlink carriers.

The UE maintains carrier aggregation information defined according tothe above-mentioned control information during a predetermined time.However, according to the first scheme, provided that the UE enters aspecific DRX mode in step S1203, if the UE stays in the valid period inunits of the entire carrier or each carrier in relation to individualconfigured downlink subcarriers, irrespective of the specific DRX mode,the UE downlink carrier reception operation can be maintained in the ONstate in step S1204. In this case, provided that the UE is woken up fromthe DRX mode and is then powered on, if the UE still remains in thevalid period, the UE can be awoken in the multi-carrier mode in stepsS1205 and S1206. At the time at which the UE is woken up from the DRXmode, if the UE does not belong to the carrier aggregation valid period,the UE can be awoken into the single carrier mode in step S1207. ifnecessary, in case of the configured downlink structure, from theviewpoint of the UE reception operation, the UE ON/OFF states may beindependently determined in units of a downlink carrier according to aconfiguration situation of a valid period or valid time foractivation/deactivation.

On the other hand, if the UE enters the DRX mode in step S1203, the UEcan enter or maintain the sleep mode using the second scheme. In moredetail, according to the second scheme, irrespective ofactivation/deactivation information of the corresponding carrieraggregation, the UE maintains the DRX mode of the entire downlinkcarriers, or may enter or maintain the sleep mode. That is, valid timeinformation related to the received carrier aggregation is invalidatedin step S1208.

As described above, the above-mentioned power control methods accordingto embodiments of the present invention may be used independently or incombination so as to control the carrier aggregation operation.

The base station (BS) and the user equipment (UE) applicable toembodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described withreference to FIG. 13.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a base station (BS) and a userequipment (UE) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 13, the UE may operate as a transmitter on uplink andas a receiver on downlink, while the BS may operate as a receiver onuplink and as a transmitter on downlink. That is, each of the UE and theBS may include a transmitter and a receiver for transmission andreception of information or data.

The transmitter and the receiver may include processors, modules, parts,and/or means for implementing the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention. Especially, the transmitter and the receiver may include amodule (means) for encrypting messages, a module for interpretingencrypted messages, an antenna for transmitting and receiving messages,etc.

Referring to FIG. 13, the left part corresponds to the transmitter(i.e., the BS) and the right part corresponds to the receiver (i.e., theUE). Each of the transmitter and the receiver may include an antenna1301 or 1302, a Reception (Rx) module 1310 or 1320, a processor 1330 or1340, a Transmission (Tx) module 1350 or 1360, and a memory 1370 or1320.

The antennas 1301 and 1302 include Tx antennas for transmitting signalsgenerated from Tx modules 1350 and 1360 to an external part, and Rxantennas for receiving radio frequency (RF) signals from the externalpart and providing the received RF signals to the Rx modules 1310 and1320. If Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) is supported, two or moreantennas may be provided.

The Rx modules 1310 and 1320 may recover original data by demodulatingand decoding data received through the antennas 1301 and 1302 andprovide the recovered data to the processors 1330 and 1340. Although theRx modules and the antennas may be separated from each other as shown inFIG. 13, it should be noted that the Rx modules and the antennas mayalso be denoted only by the receiver for receiving RF signals.

The processors 1330 and 1340 generally provide overall control to theAMS. Especially, the processors 1330 and 1340 may perform a controllerfunction for implementing the above-described exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention, a variable MAC frame control function based onservice characteristics and a propagation environment, a handover (HO)function, an authentication and encryption function, etc.

The Tx modules 1350 and 1360 perform predetermined coding and modulationfor data, which is scheduled by schedulers connected to the processors1330 and 1340 and transmitted to the outside, and then transfer themodulated data to the antennas 1301 and 1302. The Tx modules and theantennas may be separated from each other as shown in FIG. 13, it shouldbe noted that the Tx modules and the antennas may also be denoted onlyby the transmitter for transmitting RF signals.

The memories 1370 and 1380 may store programs for processing and controlof the processors 1330 and 1340, temporarily store input/output data(uplink (UL) grant, system information, station identifier (STID), flowidentifier (FID), action time, etc. in case of the UE).

In addition, each of the memories 1370 and 1380 may include at least onetype of storage media such as a flash memory, a hard disk, a multimediacard micro, a card-type memory (e.g. a Secure Digital (SD) or eXtremeDigital (XD) memory), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Static RandomAccess Memory (SRAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), an Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory,a magnetic memory, a magnetic disc, an optical disc, etc.

The processor 1330 of the transmitter performs overall control of theBS. In accordance with the embodiments shown in FIGS. 9, 11, and 12, thecarrier scheduling and control information for performing power controlin a downlink multi-carrier mode may be constructed.

For example, as can be seen from FIG. 9, control information indicatinga specific HARQ process corresponding to the HARQ-based multi-carriermode may be configured in a manner that the UE can perform power controlin the multi-carrier mode. In addition, as can be seen from FIG. 11,control information indicating activation/deactivation of the carrieraggregation in the multi-carrier mode may be configured in themulti-carrier mode. Furthermore, as can be seen from FIG. 12, a validperiod in which carrier aggregation is valid may be decided so thatassociated control information can be constructed. The processor 1330may transmit control information for power control to the receiverthrough the Tx module 1350.

The processor 1340 of the receiver performs overall control of the UE.Based on power control information received through the Rx module 1320,power control of the carrier aggregation transmitted at a specific timeof the multi-carrier mode is achieved using a multi-carrier code. Inmore detail, based on control information shown in the embodiments ofFIGS. 9, 11 and 12, the remaining carriers other than a specific carrieraggregation corresponding to the multi-carrier mode are not operated inthe multi-carrier mode, such that power consumption can be greatlyreduced.

In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, theprocessors 1330 and 1340 may be configured to transmit theabove-mentioned control information through additional signaling insteadof a DM-RS. In the meantime, the BS may perform a control function forimplementing the above-described exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) packetscheduling, Time Division Duplex (TDD) packet scheduling andchannelization, a variable MAC frame control function based on servicecharacteristics and propagation environment, a real-time high-speedtraffic control function, a handover function, an authentication andencryption function, a packet modulation/demodulation function for datatransmission and reception, a high-speed packet channel coding function,a real-time MODEM control function, etc., by at least one of theabove-described modules, or the BS may further include an additionalmodule, part or means for performing these functions.

The detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention has been given to enable those skilled in the art to implementand practice the invention. Although the invention has been describedwith reference to the exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that various modifications and variations can be made inthe present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of theinvention described in the appended claims. For example, those skilledin the art may use each construction described in the above embodimentsin combination with each other.

Accordingly, the invention should not be limited to the specificembodiments described herein, but should be accorded the broadest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The embodiments of the present invention are applicable to variouswireless access systems including a 3^(rd) Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) system, a 3GPP2 system, and/or an Institute of Electricaland Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.xx system. Besides these wirelessaccess systems, the embodiments of the present invention are applicableto all technical fields to which wireless access systems are applied.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of activating or deactivating frequencyresources at a terminal configured with a primary frequency resource andone or more non-primary frequency resources in a wireless communicationsystem, the method comprising: receiving a medium access control (MAC)signal for activating the one or more non-primary frequency resources;activating the one or more non-primary frequency resources; anddeactivating the one or more non-primary frequency resources on expiryof a specific time period configured by radio resource control (RRC)signaling, the specific time period being for which of the one or morenon-primary frequency resources are activated.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the specific time period is independent of a discontinuousreception (DRX) related operation.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theprimary frequency resource includes a primary component carrier, and theone or more non-primary frequency resources include one or morenon-primary component carriers.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thespecific time period is configured per non-primary frequency resource.5. A terminal for activating or deactivating frequency resources in awireless communication system, the terminal being configured with aprimary frequency resource and one or more non-primary frequencyresources, the terminal comprising: a radio frequency (RF) module; and aprocessor configured to: receive an medium access control (MAC) signalfor activating the one or more non-primary frequency resources, activatethe one or more non-primary frequency resources, and deactivate the oneor more non-primary frequency resources on expiry of a specific timeperiod configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling, thespecific time period being for which of the one or more non-primaryfrequency resources are activated.
 6. The terminal of claim 5, whereinthe specific time period is independent of discontinuous reception (DRX)related operation.
 7. The terminal of claim 5, wherein the primaryfrequency resource includes a primary component carrier, and the one ormore non-primary frequency resources include one or more non-primarycomponent carriers.
 8. The terminal of claim 5, wherein the specifictime period is configured per non-primary frequency resource.